Overview

The Finance Council is an essential consultative body of the Parish that assists the Pastor in the administration of the goods of St. Edith Parish. The Council helps facilitate the accomplishment of the pastoral priorities identified by the Pastor and Pastoral Council. The Parish Finance Council will have a minimum of three and a maximum of nine voting members. Ideally, the members should have expertise in the areas of accounting, finance, administration, budgeting, property management, human resources or civil law. They must be able to work in groups. Members should be capable of relating to people from varied social, economic and ethnic backgrounds with an ability to listen to the needs of the parishioners. The Pastor serves as a non-voting member. Members of the Parish Finance Council are appointed by the Pastor.

Officers

• The Pastor serves as president and does not vote on matters put to the Council.

• The Chairperson is appointed by the Pastor. The chairperson sets meeting agendas, arranges the date, time, and place of the meetings, reports on the status of the parish finances, and updates the Pastor regarding significant and pending matters.

• The Vice Chairperson is appointed by the Pastor. The vice chairperson is responsible for fulfilling the chairperson’s role if the chairperson is unable to fulfill his/her duties.

• The Secretary is appointed by the Pastor. The secretary is responsible for taking the minutes at the Parish Finance Council’s meetings, preparing and distributing the meeting minutes. The secretary is also responsible for sending the minutes to the parish office manager for distribution to the Parish Pastoral Council members and members of the various commissions.

• The Representative to the Parish Pastoral Council is appointed by the Pastor. The representative provides feedback to the Finance Council from the Parish Pastoral Council.

Work of the Parish Finance Council

The parish has the right to acquire and administer parish goods. The Pastor may act alone with expenditures up to $10,000. For expenditures between $10,000.01 and $25,000 the Pastor must consult the Parish Finance Council prior to acting. The consultation is recorded in the Finance Council meeting minutes. For expenditures between $25,000.01 and $100,000, the Pastor must consult the Parish Finance Council prior to acting. The consultation is recorded in the Finance Council meeting minutes. The transaction along with the meeting minutes and the approved expenditure request form are sent to the Archdiocese of Detroit. Approval of the Expenditure Approval Request Form is necessary before making any commitment to spend such funds. For expenditures over $100,000 the pastor must consult the Parish Finance Council prior to acting. The consultation is recorded in the Parish Finance Council meeting minutes. The transaction along with the meeting minutes and the approved expenditure request form are sent to the Archdiocese of Detroit for approval by the Archbishop. Approval of the Expenditure Approval Request Form is necessary before making any commitment to spend such funds.

The Council is also consulted on preparing the annual parish budget and preparing a video inventory. They also review the monthly financial report, annual financial reports and all audits. They are consulted in seeking a loan from the Loan Deposit Program when beginning a parish-based capital and/or debt reduction campaign and when making significant alterations in the church.

Meeting Minutes

Capital Projects Progress Updates